INDIANAPOLIS —
With less than three weeks to go before the mandatory close of this legislative session, Indiana lawmakers are sending a flurry of bills to the governor for his signature.
Gov. Mitch Daniels has already signed at least nine bills into law, including the controversial “right-to-work” legislation that makes it a crime for employers to enter into labor agreements that require workers to pay union dues.
Other bills, passed out the House and Senate, await Daniels’ signature. They include legislation that rolls back a “blue law” on Sunday motorcycle sales and that would allow the state’s motorcycle dealers to sell their wares seven days a week.
By law, the 2012 “short” legislative session must wrap up by March 14. House Speaker Brian Bosma is predicting lawmakers may be done earlier, by March 9.
Many of the bills headed to Daniels desk are like the cemetery bill that expands the definition of a historic cemetery that can be cared for with county tax dollars. It moves the date to be considered “historic” from 1850 to 1875; it also expands the definition to include cemeteries with the graves of Civil War veterans.
“It may not be the most important bill we pass, but it will be important to a lot of people who care about this issue,” said Rep. Ed Clere, a Republican from New Albany who co-sponsored the bill.
While legislation that would have required state officials to start a drug-testing program from welfare recipients failed, a bill that further limits how welfare recipients can access their cash benefits passed, and has already been signed into law by Daniels.
Under the new law that goes into effect July 1, Hoosiers enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program are banned from accessing their cash benefits using an ATM inside a strip club. The current law already bars those TANF recipients from using ATM machines in casinos, horse tracks, gun shops, bars and liquor stores to access their cash benefits.
One big bill still up for debate is the statewide smoking ban that would prohibit smoking in most indoor workplaces. The House has already passed a bill that would give bars and taverns an extra 18 months to implement the ban, and with exemptions for casinos, cigar bars, and private clubs.
In the Senate, amendments to the bill were debated Tuesday. Some would further limit the exemptions, while others would expand the businesses that would be exempt from the smoking ban.
If the bill passes the Senate, it has to go to a joint House-Senate conference committee where legislators would work out their differences.
Daniels has made the smoking ban one of his priorities and has told legislators he wants few workplaces exempted from the law.
• Each bill passed by the General Assembly that goes to Daniels for his signature is posted online at the state’s Bill Watch site. To follow the bills going to the governor’s desk, go to www.in.gov/billwatch.
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Indiana Legislature
Indiana Legislature to wrap up short session
- Indiana Legislature
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Legislature approves Indiana sentencing laws overhaul
INDIANAPOLIS — An overhaul of Indiana’s criminal sentencing laws aimed at sending fewer nonviolent offenders to prison has been approved by the Legislature.
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Budget deal calls for 5 percent income tax cut
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana taxpayers will see their personal income tax rate reduced by 5 percent over the next four years under a budget plan agreed to by state lawmakers.
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Revoked charters could be forgiven $12M in loans
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are considering forgiving $12 million in loans that “failing” charter schools accepted from the state.
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Indiana House set to vote on school safety grant plan
INDIANAPOLIS — A stripped-down proposal that would start a state grant program toward helping school districts hire police officers and buy safety equipment is set to be voted on by Indiana legislators.
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Indiana Senate approves minimal voucher expansion
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate is signing off on a limited expansion of the state’s school voucher program.
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Group, bill promote natural gas fueling stations
INDIANAPOLIS — Natural gas advocates want to create incentives for building fueling stations across the state in hopes that more people will operate vehicles using alternative fuels.
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Senate OKs smaller tax cut than Pence wants
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appears to be holding firm to his demand for a 10-percent income tax cut, despite some movement from Senate Republicans who are willing to give him a smaller slice of what he wants.
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Pence: Indiana Senate GOP income tax cut not enough
INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Pence says an income tax cut in the Indiana Senate’s proposed budget is a start but he’ll still push for the $500 million cut he has proposed.
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Indiana Senate leader against school guns mandate
INDIANAPOLIS — The leader of the Indiana Senate has come out against a proposal that would require all public schools in the state to have an employee armed with a loaded gun.
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House panel approves HIP expansion, strips grants
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana House panel has altered a plan that would use the state’s Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid coverage in the state.
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Bill seeks in-state tuition for some immigrants
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are considering rolling back the state’s two-year-old immigration law so that illegal immigrants who were attending public colleges then would again be eligible for in-state tuition rates.
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Bill for tougher Indiana abortion pill law advances
INDIANAPOLIS — A legislative committee has endorsed a proposal that would make Indiana clinics that provide only abortion drugs face the same requirements as clinics that perform surgical abortions.
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Bill to ban Indiana teacher union deductions advances
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana public schools would be prohibited from handling paycheck deductions for teachers union dues under a proposal endorsed by a Republican-led legislative committee.
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Bill advances shifting Indiana voucher oversight
INDIANAPOLIS — A Republican-controlled legislative committee has approved a proposal to shift administration of Indiana’s private school voucher program away from the new Democratic state schools superintendent.
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Indiana school voucher expansion scaled back
INDIANAPOLIS — Republican lawmakers have scaled back a large proposed expansion of Indiana’s private school voucher system.
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Pence unhappy with GOP budget, Dems seek tax vote
INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Pence is deriding House Republicans’ state budget plan that would replace his proposed tax cut with more spending on roads and education.
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Grants proposed to add police at Indiana schools
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers say they hope to improve security at schools around the state by offering grants toward hiring police officers and buying safety equipment.
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Indiana Sunday alcohol sales ban likely to remain
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s longtime ban on Sunday retail alcohol sales will likely continue for at least another year as a vote isn’t being scheduled on a bill to lift it.
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Indiana bill targets undercover video ‘vigilantes’
INDIANAPOLIS — A Senate panel has approved a bill that would make it a crime to take photographs or shoot footage at Indiana’s farms and businesses without the owner’s permission.
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Bill would give high-performing schools more flexibility
After focusing on failing schools in recent legislative sessions, some Indiana lawmakers say it’s time to reward high-performing schools with more money and more flexibility.
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Indiana Senate approves right to hunt, farm proposal
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana voters would decide in next year’s election whether to add the right to hunt, fish and farm to the state constitution under a proposal approved by state senators.
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Indiana lawmakers push for Sunday alcohol sales
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers hoping to allow stores to sell alcohol on Sunday are facing opposition from liquor store owners, who worry the policy could put them out of business.
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Bill advances to loosen Indiana superintendent rules
INDIANAPOLIS — School superintendents would no longer have to hold an Indiana superintendent’s or teacher’s license under a bill endorsed today by an Indiana House committee.
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Bill aims to tighten Indiana laws over ‘bath salts’
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana legislators are again trying to toughen state laws that prohibit businesses from selling synthetic drugs known as “bath salts” and other nicknames.
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Cold medicines could face tighter Indiana limits
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana Senate committee has backed tougher limits on quantities consumers may buy of cold medications that can be used to make methamphetamine.
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Indiana senators seek new social networking ban
INDIANAPOLIS — Two Republican lawmakers are looking for a new way to keep registered sex offenders off social media one week after a federal appeals court found a previous ban unconstitutional.
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Indiana House OKs looser rules on selling old schools
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House has approved a bill that would shorten the time that school districts must hold onto vacant buildings in case a charter school operator wanted to move into the building.
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Indiana lawmakers don sneakers for anti-cancer effort
INDIANAPOLIS — Numerous Indiana lawmakers and staff members are wearing sneakers around the Statehouse as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer activity sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
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UPDATE: Indiana lawmakers consider protecting right to hunt
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers have delayed action on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right of residents to hunt, fish and farm.
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Top Indiana senator seeks gas plant contract review
A top Indiana senator is calling for a review of Indiana’s plans to subsidize a proposed coal-gasification plant.
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