The 2021 legislative session is wrapping up in Indiana. There was much to do in such little time in this budget year. But, the end is finally upon us. The third reading deadline has already passed, and conference committees are underway. The Republican dominated legislature has definitely had its share of drama this session. Most of the drama happened within the Republican caucuses themselves. With Democrats being flatly rejected in Indiana in the 2020 elections, the Republicans have to get pushback from somewhere. They found that pushback this session within their own party. With all this in mind, I think it’s time to take a look what has went down this legislative session.
It would be hard to write this and not talk about one of the most important issues this legislative session. If you think I’m talking about the budget, then you would be wrong. Governor Holcomb’s emergency powers have been hotly debated during session. House Bill 1123 was passed by the House and Senate then was subsequently vetoed by Governor Holcomb. The House has overruled the veto and the Senate will be taking up the issue again soon (Lange, 2021). House Bill 1123 allows state lawmakers call special sessions in lieu of the Governor (Lange, 2021). This will likely bring a constitutional challenge. The Indiana constitution gives the Governor the sole authority to call a special session (Shabazz, 2021). The House and Senate have claimed they have the authority to call a special session, but they have not cited that authority as of now (Shabazz, 2021). Governor Holcomb cited this constitutionality concern as the reason he vetoed the bill (Lange, 2021). I do not know whether the legislature has this power or not, but they are at the point of no return. They will be going to court and we will find out the outcome of this battle in due time. To say this has caused some tension between the Governor Holcomb’s office and the Republican legislature is an understatement. Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray and Speaker Todd Huston have to balance what their caucuses want, while at the same time trying to keep a good relationship with the Governor. I think they have done a fairly good job but overturning the veto may not send the best message.
Now, it is time to discuss what should be the most important issues during the budget year. The budget has passed out of both chambers and is now in conference committee. I think it would be an understatement to say there was a shock when the updated economic forecast came out. Some background may be needed here. There is an economic forecast that is published at the end of the year and that is what lawmakers use to craft the budget. There is a second one that comes out prior to the end of session and lawmakers can make the necessary changes to the budget based off the second forecast. This year the updated economic forecast provided lawmakers with $2 billion more to spend (Berman, 2021). This doesn’t include the $3 billion of federal COVID-19 relief that lawmakers are trying to figure out how to spend (Berman, 2021). The bottom line is that they are going to fund something. They could put some more money in K-12 education, fund some tax cuts, or pay down debt. We will see what happens in the next week. Dixon (2021) reported that the budget that the Senate passed out included: $110 million of pay off debts, $250 million for broadband, $150 million for education loss during COVID-19, and $100 million for Family and Social Services to addresses mental health in relation to COVID-19. The most controversial part of the budget is the increase in school vouchers (Dixon, 2021). The Senate did compromise and brought the final increase in voucher dollars down, but I assume that will be a point of contention in conference committee and may be where they spend a portion of their new found fortune.
There has been some of the typical Republican legislation that has been pushed through. There has also been at least one instance of some Republican legislation failing. There was a pro-life bill that has been passed that made some national news. The bill puts some new guardrails on abortion. Specifically it sets three new regulations: First, it requires Indiana doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a reversal option before giving them the drug; second, the bill bans chemical abortion over telemedicine; finally, the bill requires a notarization of a parent’s signature allowing abortion for women younger than 18 years old (AP, 2021a). I think this is smart legislation. If you are pro-life this is common sense legislation that will be upheld if it is challenged in court. Unlike the pro-life legislation, the Republicans were unable to get popular gun legislation passed. House Bill 1369 would have eliminated licenses to carry a handgun (B. Smith, 2021). The House passed the bill, and more than half of the Senate Republicans co-sponsored the bill (B. Smith, 2021). Assuming everyone that co-sponsored the bill voted for it they would only have to find less than 5 votes to pass this bill out of the Senate. They never had that option though, as the Senate decided to let the bill die and not bring it up during committee (B. Smith, 2021). There was a compromise through. Under the Senate’s budget proposal, you may still have to get the license, but there is no longer a fee (B. Smith, 2021). I would rather them pass the original bill, but getting rid of a fee is the next best step. I know Democrats like to say since there is sometimes a fee to get an ID you are making citizens pay for their right to vote. They like to ignore the fact that people have to pay to exercise their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. So, getting rid of the fee was the smart move. Finally, in typical Republican fashion there had to be a bill concerning religion. There was a bill that was passed that prohibits any restrictions on religious services during a declared emergency (AP, 2021b). I think all three bills should have passed, but 2/3 isn’t bad. Well, it is bad when you consider the Republicans have supermajorities in both the House and Senate. Like I said, you have to get pushback from somewhere. It just so happens that this pushback is within their own caucus.
Now turning my attention to Indianapolis, a bill that concerned Indianapolis’ bus rapid transit died in the Senate. It came as a surprise when there was an amendment filed in a house bill that concerned IndyGo. Senator Aaron Freeman authored an amendment for House Bill 1191 that would require IndyGo to reimburse utility companies for relocations required during projects (May, 2021). It is no secret that Senator Freeman and IndyGo have had their share of differences over the past years. It is also no secret that IndyGo’s bus rapid transit system is not that good. I’ve rode the Redline multiple times and the busses aren’t reliable and the timing isn’t reliable. It is not what I would call rapid. It will be interesting to see what happens with this bill. I understand why Senator Freeman filed this amendment. As he put it, it is for “ratepayer protection” (May, 2021). I agree with this amendment and hope the bill passes. IndyGo not paying for the relocation of utilities is just another way to buck the cost of these projects on ratepayers. In other Indianapolis news, Senate Bill 385 authored by Senator Jack Sandlin gives Indianapolis two extra years to establish a special taxing district for Indy Eleven’s new stadium (Burris et al., 2021). The original Indy Eleven stadium bill was also authored by Senator Sandlin and will be an important project for the city of Indianapolis in the coming years.
Then there are the rest of the bills that I fell like I have to mention. House Bill 1006, which is the police reform bill, was passed by both the House and Senate (Burris et al., 2021). With everything that happened last summer this was an important bill to make it through. Once again, Indiana is going to be a model state for this type of legislation. Governor Holcomb got one of his pet projects through, albeit a weaker version than he would have liked. The pregnant workers accommodations bill will allow pregnant employees to request accommodations and the bill requires the employer to respond in a reasonable time frame; the bill though does not mandate employers to grant the requests (C. Smith, 2021). This is not as far as the Governor wanted the bill to go, but it is a start. Surprisingly, a wetlands bill has been one of the most contentious this session. It eliminates a 2003 law that requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to issue permits in a state-regulated wetland and ends enforcement proceedings against landowners violating the current law (AP, 2021c). The bill has already passed both chambers and it is likely on its way to the Governor. Finally, Senate Bill 2, which was one of the first passed, fully funds schools who were virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic (Lindsay, 2021).
Once the lawmakers leave, they won’t be leaving for good this year. It is a redistricting year. In the budget bill, the legislature extended the deadline for adjournment from April 29 until November 15 (WBIW, 2021). During this time, the legislature will get the census data and congressional and state legislature maps will be redrawn. This may be the end of session for now, but in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, “we will be back.”
Sources
Associated Press. (2021, Apr. 6). Indiana Senate approves ‘abortion reversal’ requirement. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/legislature-medication-abortion-indianapolis-indiana-7f199c9901ba073c16e19113d75b95d7
Associated Press. (2021, Apr. 8). Indiana Legislature OKs religious activities as essential. Retrieved from https://fox59.com/news/indiana-legislature-oks-religious-activities-as-essential/
Associated Press. (2021, Apr. 15). Wetlands deregulation bill advances to Indiana governor. Retrieved from https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/wetlands-deregulation-bill-advances-to-indiana-governor
Berman, Eric. (2021, Apr. 15). SURPRISE! FORECAST ADDS $2B TO EXPECTED STATE REVENUE AS LEGISLATORS FINALIZE BUDGET. Retrieved from https://www.wibc.com/news/local-indiana/surprise-forecast-adds-2b-to-expected-state-revenue-as-legislators-finalize-budget/
Burris, Alexandria; DePompei, Elizabeth; Herron, Arika; Lange, Kaitlin; May, Ethan; Pak-Harvey, Amelia. (2021, Mar.22). Bills on Indy Eleven, police reform head to Holcomb’s desk. Retrieved from https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/22/ indiana-general-assembly-summary-where-notable-bills-stand/4732538001/
Dixon, Taylor. (2021, Apr.13). Indiana state budget passes Senate. Retrieved from http://thestatehousefile.com/44931/indiana-state-budget-passes-senate/
Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul. (2021, Apr. 5). CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE. Retrieved from https://indypolitics.org/constitutional-challenge/
Lange, Kaitlin. (2021, Apr. 15). Indiana House votes to override Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of emergency powers bill. Retrieved from https://www.indystar.com/story/news/ politics/2021/04/15/indiana-house-overrides-governors-veto-emergency-powers-bill/7186479002/
Lindsey, Jeanie. (2021, Mar. 16). Indiana General Assembly Approves Virtual School Funding Bill, Sends To Holcomb. Retrieved from https://indianapublicmedia.org /news/indiana-general-assembly-approves-virtual-school-funding-bill,-sends-to-holcomb.php
May, Ethan. (2021, Apr. 13). Statehouse fight over Indianapolis bus rapid transit is resurrected in a new way. Retrieved from https://www.indystar.com/story/news/ local/transportation/2021/04/13/indygo-bus-rapid-transit-once-again-threatened-indiana-statehouse/7207482002/
Smith, Brandon. (2021, Apr. 9). Eliminating Handgun Licenses Likely Not Happening This Session But Not Ruled Out. Retrieved from https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/ eliminating-handgun-licenses-likely-not-happening-this-session-but-not-ruled-out.php
Smith, Casey. (2021, Apr. 9). Indiana Senate OKs Bill Making Pregnant Worker Accommodations Optional. Retrieved from https://www.insurancejournal .com/news/midwest/2021/04/09/609133.htm
WBIW. (2021, Apr 13). Indiana lawmakers planning on return for redistricting votes. Retrieved from http://www.wbiw.com/2021/04/13/indiana-lawmakers-planning-on-return-for-redistricting-votes/
Politics with Kegan Prentice 
