Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Whitney Downard and Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fshers) wants the nearly three-dozen Illinois counties that have voted to secede to consider redder pastures.
“We think instead of seceding and creating a 51st state, they should just join us,” Huston said, while introducing his priority legislation, House Bill 1008.
“We match their priorities, their interests and we’re excited about having that conversation this year,” the Republican from Fishers told reporters. “And to all of our neighbors to the west, we hear your frustrations and then invite you to join us in a low-cost, low-tax Indiana.”
Huston’s caucus introduced seven other pieces of priority legislation, focusing on a balanced budget, school deregulation, high health care costs, energy supply boosts, criminal justice funding and housing infrastructure help.
Keeping a tight budget, slashing school regulations
In House Bill 1001, the caucus hopes to pass an “honestly balanced” biennial budget, according to a news release. That’s despite worsening financial winds.
Revenue is projected to grow — but by less than in recent years — in the first year of the budget, and be flat in the second year. Expenses like Medicaid could quickly eat that up.
“I know it’s a difficult time in terms of revenue, but we will find those priorities and we’ll fund those and then go forward from there,” said Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton. He chairs the House’s powerful, budget-building Ways and Means Committee.
The legislation wasn’t posted online as of Tuesday evening.
House Republicans also hope to “streamline” the state’s K-12 education system through House Bill 1002.
Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, said the proposal — a behemoth, 138-page omnibus education bill — intends to eliminate regulations for schools and “more towards professionalizing education, as opposed to using the industrial model, where you regulate everything.”
The measure includes dozens of repeal provisions, loosening or eliminating some existing requirements related to teacher training, professional development, school programming, administrative duties, and school boards, among other changes.
Portions of the bill additionally delete expired education provisions, like outdated curricular requirements and grant funds that no longer exist.
Multiple sections related to charters would additionally reduce reporting and operation requirements for the non-traditional public schools.
“The goal is to provide more flexibility to schools, as well as to continue to look at trying to reduce the regulatory burdens that schools face every day, as well as some of the reporting requirements,” Behning said Tuesday.
Taking on health care costs, boosting energy
The caucus is planning a two-pronged offensive on Indiana’s expensive health care industry.
House Bill 1003 is intended to improve transparency and predictability in pricing and billing, according to the release. The sprawling legislation would also give Hoosier patients “increased access” to their health information and “more control” over their treatment options.
Author Rep. Brad Barrett, R-Richmond, said it’ll touch both hospitals and insurers in ways that ensure “those savings actually get passed to the patient.”
The chamber has made multiple efforts — or “incremental change” in Barrett’s words — to reduce such costs in previous years, notably with the creation of the All Payers Claims Database. However, the price transparency tool isn’t widely used and varies depending on the Hoosier and their insurance options.
“There’s no simple solution in this arena,” Barrett told reporters. “1003 has a lot of moving pieces and the thing I can tell you is, ‘Stay tuned.’”
House Bill 1004 houses another look at health care, this one putting nonprofit hospitals in the hot seat.
“When you look closer at the numbers, you see some of our highest-cost hospitals that are driving this issue are large, not-for-profit hospitals,” Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, said. “In 1004, we’re going to look at how we can better hold accountable those hospitals to save Hoosiers real dollars on health care.”
Carbaugh said hospital prices would be compared to Medicare charges, a measure that has been subject to intense scrutiny in previous years.
The caucus turned its attention to energy in House Bill 1007.
The wide-ranging draft creates a tax credit for manufacturers of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) and lets public utilities ask for permission to spend money on SMRs and recover their costs before getting certificates of public convenience and necessity.
The legislation also establishes procedures for utilities requesting regulator approval of projects serving big customers, expedited resource generation plans for meeting major customer load growth, and so on. It sets standards for big customers’ financial assurances and for cost recovery mechanisms.
It additionally provides an avenue for lawmakers to get tough with utilities that plan to close or convert coal plants — though its provisions would apply to any type of generating resource of at least 100 megawatts. It would require utilities to give regulators information on their plans. If regulators don’t think a utility can provide reliable service, they can investigate — then either approve or block the utility’s plan.
Housing, public safety and secession
Homebuilder and Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, hopes to chip away at Indiana’s housing shortage through his House Bill 1005.
He led the charge with the creation of the Residential Housing Infrastructure Assistance Program in 2023. The nascent revolving loan fund lends money for housing-related infrastructure projects, then will reinvest the proceeds in its next loans.
Miller’s legislation would dump $25 million more into the fund.
It would also give funding priority to communities that enact at least eight of 16 listed pro-density land use policies. They include establishing density bonuses, eliminating or reducing off-street parking requirements, letting manufactured homes into areas zoned for single family houses, and more. The bill also has provisions on building inspectors.
Through House Bill 1006, Rep. Chris Jeter (R-Fishers) hopes to help out local prosecutors — but crack down on those he sees as not doing their jobs.
His legislation establishes a body to increase the number of qualified special prosecutors available for appointment and creates a fund for it.
It also creates a prosecutor review board that would examine prosecutors who “categorically refuse to prosecute” criminal laws. If the board labels a prosecutor as “noncompliant,” the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council must withhold certain funding.
Lawmakers have cited prosecutors around the country not enforcing shoplifting laws below a certain dollar amount, but also Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, a Democrat who’s said his office won’t criminally prosecute possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, and won’t “waste one resource” prosecuting women or medical professionals involved in abortion cases.
But, the General Assembly has repeatedly tried and failed to pass such a provision into law.
Huston’s bill, meanwhile, establishes the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission. The group would have five appointed Hoosier lawmakers and five appointees from Illinois.
After naming Indiana’s members, newly inaugurated Gov. Mike Braun would have to notify Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker that he’s appointed members. The group would hold its first meeting within two months of Prtizker picking members to represent Illinois.
Swapping states, however, is unlikely.
Illinois would lose federal funding and Republicans would see their bicameral superminorities further shrink, among other potential Prairie State quibbles. But Illinois would need to approve the move, alongside Indiana. Then, it’d head to the U.S. Congress for approval.
Asked if his proposal was “serious,” Huston noted that 33 Illinois counties have voted to secede from that state — with seven of those votes occurring in the November general election.
“Look, it’s serious, because these people have already decided,” he said.