Prior to Indiana’s 2024 legislative session, about 130 legislation were introduced

Indianapolis, Indiana – About 130 legislation have been presented in the House and Senate as Indiana legislators get ready for the start of the next legislative session, which begins next week.

Several pieces of legislation are already positioned to spark a lot of discussion, even though their ultimate fate is still up in the air. This is true even though the list and several bill notes are susceptible to change.

In the area of education, many proposals introduced by Republicans would permit schools to do away with three-year development plans (HB 1035), lower some criteria for teacher certification (HB 1020), and advocate for the appointment of chaplains in public schools (SB 50). Legislation sponsored by Democrats would prohibit “certain instruction on various historic figures” (HB 1017), mandate seizure training for all teachers (SB 56), and require schools to explain to the Indiana Department of Education why (if applicable) they cannot afford to pay all full-time teachers a minimum of $60,000.

In the area of healthcare, there are a few bills that are perhaps more contentious. HB 1011, a Democrat-sponsored bill, would allow some Indiana residents who are terminally ill to request medication for voluntary euthanasia, while SB 98, a Republican-sponsored Senate bill, would declare a fetus to be a dependent for tax purposes. This occurs while other ACLU challenges to Indiana’s nearly complete abortion ban are still pending in the courts. Bills concerning medical and recreational marijuana use are conspicuously lacking as of the writing of this article; nonetheless, SB 96, a different law, aims to decriminalize fentanyl test strips.

One bill (HB 1015) would prevent employers from punishing nurses for refusing to work required overtime, which is intended to keep more hospital employees in the face of a nursing shortage. Hospitals would also have to establish “nurse staffing councils” under the measure.

If HB 1028, a different healthcare-focused measure, is approved, Medicaid would pay for home birth midwifery and delivery center services. But given the state’s embarrassing $1 billion hole that it won’t have to pay for projected Medicaid bills this biennium, the bill may have a difficult road ahead of it.

Other noteworthy pieces of legislation include HB 1021, which would establish a “Green Alert” for missing or at-risk veterans, SB 94, which would outlaw discrimination based on hair, and SB 42, which would declare Juneteenth a state holiday. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority would have to draft a “statement of renters’ rights” under a housing bill called SB 64.

Adding to the confusion are four other gun control legislation that were submitted by Democrats: SB 24, SB 26, SB 95, and SB 24, which would raise the minimum age to carry a gun from 18 to 21. Additionally, SB 26 would forbid guns at all polling places. The fourth bill (SB 66) would prohibit dealers from selling semiautomatic assault weapons to Hoosiers under the age of eighteen and mandate that they only engage with verified dealers when selling or transferring pistols.

Meanwhile, Republican leadership appears to be concentrating a lot of effort on transportation issues. Two bills, one from the House and the other from the Senate, would forbid public transportation projects from using dedicated lanes, which IndyGo claimed would effectively kill the Blue Line. Additionally, they would forbid self-driving commercial vehicles (SB 57) and self-driving semis (HB 1022) from operating on public roads unless a human operator is present.