Advocacy

Indiana Legislative Update – That’s a Wrap…Mostly

On Monday, the Governor took action on the last of the 172 bills that had passed all the hurdles in the Legislature. There were 2 bills remaining after last week: HB1002, Enforcement of Equal Educational Opportunity (aka the antisemitism bill), and HB1338, Security of Property and Meeting Decorum (with language limiting actions by the Public Access Counselor amended in).

Early afternoon, Governor Holcomb announced that he was vetoing HB1002 and shared on X that “the language that emerged in the final days of the legislative session fails to incorporate the entire International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and its important contemporary examples.” He also signed a proclamation “reiterating that Indiana condemns all forms of antisemitism and ensures we join numerous states and countries by supporting the entire IHRA definition with its inextricable examples.” To override the Governor’s veto requires only a simple majority vote of both the House and the Senate, which could be considered when Legislators convene for “Technical Corrections Day” on May 14th, though word on the street is that they will let this veto stand.

Later that afternoon, Holcomb announced that he had signed HB1338, which started as a bill providing support for local government efforts to maintain decorum in public meetings. But had language added during the Conference Committee process that limited the independence of the State Public Access Counselor. The Governor acknowledged concerns with that language, but that they were “muted by the fact that judicial review of the office’s decisions is left untouched and that the governor retains the ability to appoint the position in the future.”

That signature – barring technical updates to come in May and any action to override the veto – signaled the end of the 123rd General Assembly. 

We learned Monday that more change would be coming to the IN Senate when current State Senator Jean Breaux (D-Indianapolis) issued a statement updating members after her long absence from the Statehouse that “after a hard-fought battle with my health, the time has come for me to focus on enjoying the time I have left surrounded by my loved ones.” Sen. Breaux was elected to the Indiana Senate in December 2006 and is considered a kind and dedicated public servant. 

Your final Bill Track is attached. We know that your bill track can seem overwhelming with the number of bills on it, esp. at the beginning of Session. For perspective, the House introduced 443 bills, they passed 111 of those, and then the Senate passed 96 of those, and 1 was lost during the Conference Committee process (21% total pass rate). The Senate passed 109 of the 296 bills they introduced and the House passed 79 of those with 2 lost during Conference (26% total pass rate). Hat tip to Hannah News Service for the data.

BILL TRACK

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