The second half of the 2022 Indiana General Assembly begins Monday, setting off a five-week sprint to the Legislature's statutory March 14 adjournment deadline.
It's nearly certain Hoosier lawmakers will enact legislation making the mastodon the official state fossil of Indiana. But outside the broad support for House Bill 1013, there appear to be significant differences of opinion between the Republican-controlled House and Senate on major state issues this year.
As a result, the final details of dozens of proposals that so far have passed either the House or the Senate remain up in the air as the opposite chamber begins its assessment — and revision — of the measures.
That includes figuring out how to bring an end to Indiana's COVID-19 public health emergency, which many state representatives and state senators believe is needed after seeing Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb continually renew his emergency declaration each month for nearly two years.
The governor has said he'll allow his COVID-19 executive orders to expire if Hoosier lawmakers approve a measure enabling Indiana to still receive enhanced health care and food assistance funding from the federal government, authorizing voluntary administration of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, and allowing out-of-state medical personnel to continue working at Indiana health facilities.
Senate Bill 3, sponsored by state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, ticks each of those boxes. Though the legislation also currently would end the $90 per month, per household enhanced federal food assistance funding on April 16 — regardless of whether the federal COVID-19 emergency continues beyond that date.
GOP senators said the cutoff is needed to "send a message" to the Democratic-controlled Congress and Democratic President Joe Biden that Indiana does not support "runaway spending." Holcomb has not yet said whether he supports the early cutoff of federal food assistance, or if he'd seek to continue it through an executive order if the provision is enacted into law.
The House, meanwhile, took the governor's three conditions for ending the state of emergency and wrapped them into a controversial plan restricting Indiana companies from imposing a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on their employees.
House Bill 1001 would compel all Indiana businesses with a COVID-19 vaccine requirement, except federal contractors, to allow any full- or part-time employee with a medical, religious or general objection to the vaccine, or a recent COVID-19 infection and recovery, to automatically opt out of the company's vaccine mandate.
Employers could then require those employees participate in weekly COVID-19 testing paid for by the employer or by the state. Workers who lose their jobs for refusing to comply with a company's vaccine mandate would have their departure classified as non-voluntary, thereby entitling the workers to receive unemployment benefits.
Top Hoosier senators and Holcomb repeatedly have signaled they're not on board with that plan. The proposal also is strongly opposed by state business leaders who say Indiana's pro-business reputation will be threatened if the General Assembly meddles so deeply into how Hoosier businesses run their operations and manage their employees.
On the other hand, Hoosier business leaders enthusiastically favor House Bill 1002 that would provide a substantial property and sales tax cut for Indiana businesses, as well as limited income tax relief for Hoosier workers. When fully implemented, the plan would reduce state revenue by an estimated $1.3 billion a year.
Senate budget officials, however, have said they're inclined to wait until the 2023 legislative session to consider adopting any major tax cuts on the chance that Indiana's record-breaking revenue merely is a mirage created by record-breaking federal spending.
Likewise, House Bill 1077, eliminating the permit requirement for adults to carry handguns in public places, and House Bill 1134, restricting teaching on "divisive concepts," both face an uncertain fate in the Senate where permitless carry failed to pass last year and a version of the education proposal was scuttled in January amid a controversy over whether schools could teach Nazis are bad.
Heading into similar headwinds is Senate Bill 179. It authorizes speed camera enforcement in highway work zones when motorists are traveling at least 11 mph over the speed limit; an idea the House declined to advance last month in part to avoid further endangering road construction workers.
Other hot-button issues for the second half include House Bill 1116, sharply limiting the use of mail-in absentee ballots; House Bill 1041, banning trans girls from high school athletics; House Bill 1122, controlling the siting of adult-oriented businesses; and House Bill 1130, mandating school boards allow at least three minutes of public comment during each meeting from every person in attendance.
Meanwhile, several proposals related to Northwest Indiana issues appear to enjoy broad support in both the House and Senate, and are likely to become law without much controversy.
They include House Bill 1110, permitting Aberdeen to seek to be annexed by Valparaiso even though the subdivision is not contiguous to the city; Senate Bill 305, creating 10 additional alcohol sale permits for restaurants in downtown Lowell; and House Bill 1011, authorizing Lowell to more aggressively invest the proceeds of its recent water system sale.
Legislation must pass both chambers with identical language to advance to the governor to be signed into law or vetoed.
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