As many of you know, the Indiana legislature revises the state budget in odd years. Because of this, I find this year’s bills feel different from previous budget years.
In the education committee alone, we have bills that propose to deal with social issues in America. For example:
- HB 1041 authored by Rep. Davis requires educational institutions to designate athletic teams as male, female, or mixed.
- HB 1173, authored by Rep. Teshka, protects student speech in universities and provides that the race, color, or ethnicity of a student may not be used in certain decision-making processes.
- HB 1207, authored by Rep. Goss-Reaves, establishes the space science and technology grant program to provide grants focusing on atmospheric and outer space exploration.
- HB 1231, authored by Rep. Prescott, requires each school corporation to display the text of the Ten Commandments in each school library and classroom.
- HB 1435, authored by Rep. Smaltz, requires the adoption of a policy that prohibits certain foreign students from enrolling in or receiving instruction in a qualifying STEM program.
In the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee, HB 1393, authored by Rep. Bascom, is a bill to require a law enforcement officer to cooperate with ICE. That bill passed a committee vote 9 to 2.
The Senate also has bills dealing with social issues in various committees. As an example:
- SB 143, authored by Senators Brown, Alexander, and Clark, prohibits a governmental entity from directing, or coercing a child to withhold certain information from their parent; or denying a child’s parent access to certain information.
- SB 199, authored by Sens. Gaskill and Rogers, reduces the number of candidates of a political party that are required to sign a written statement indicating their desire to name a watcher to be present at a county primary election.
- SB 235, authored by Sen. Johnson and Sen. Byrne, prohibits the use of DEI in the hiring process or in the treatment of individuals by state agencies or recipients of state grants. That bill was transferred to the Judiciary Committee and passed on a vote of 8 to 2.
- SB 284, authored by Sen. Byrne, reduces the period during which in-person absentee voting may occur from 28 days to seven days ending at noon on the day before Election Day.
It is encouraging to see that our State Legislature is addressing issues of gender, free speech, affirmative action, immigration, technology theft, space exploration, etc. As of Thursday, Jan. 23, the only bill mentioned above to pass out of their chamber is SB 199 on Parental Rights.
The last day a bill can get to a third reading is Feb. 20 for both the House and the Senate. Bills approved by the House or Senate will go to the partner chamber for a hearing and vote before the Governor can sign it into law.
Again, this is a budget year and, undoubtedly, that is where the majority of our legislators’ attention will be focused. However, the social issues addressed by some of these bills are critically important and should be addressed, if not this year the next.
Melba Kiser is an outspoken advocate for financial responsibility and transparency in government at all levels. Her column appears at least once each month in The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.
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