INDIANAPOLIS — State lawmakers have decided they want alcohol available at a renovated Indiana Dunes State Park pavilion, regardless of local opposition.
The Senate voted 33-17 Tuesday to send House Bill 1386 to a House-Senate conference committee for final adjustments before likely advancing it to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature or veto.
The measure allows the Department of Natural Resources to obtain "state park" alcohol permits, for any or all of its parks, without having to follow most of the procedures typically required to get state permission to sell beer, wine or liquor — including local review.
Developer Pavilion Partners last year twice was denied an alcohol sales permit by the Porter County Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
The Dunes legislation was among dozens of proposals the General Assembly acted on Tuesday as lawmakers work toward a March 10 adjournment.
Here are some of the other measures to pass the House or Senate: "Bills" were changed in the legislative process and must be re-approved to go to the governor; "Enrolled Acts" are eligible for a Pence decision.
Abortion — House Bill 1337 prohibits doctors from performing an abortion if the doctor knows the patient is seeking an abortion due to diagnosis of a genetic fetal disability, or because of the gender, race, color, national origin or ancestry of the fetus. It also mandates burial or cremation for aborted fetuses and obligates abortion doctors to comply with numerous additional paperwork directives.
Parental rights — House Enrolled Act 1064, sponsored by state Reps. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, and state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, creates a civil court process to terminate the parental rights of an alleged rapist who fathers a child with the victim, even if the perpetrator is not convicted of a criminal rape charge.
Tax sale — Senate Bill 310, sponsored by state Sens. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, and Slager, establishes a three-year pilot program allowing Lake County cities to bundle multiple abandoned properties and auction them as a group for redevelopment. It also restricts tax sale speculators who fail to pay taxes on their purchases.
Waste districts — Senate Bill 366, sponsored by Slager and Niemeyer, gives counties the power to eliminate their solid waste management districts after July 1, 2017, if the county commissioners and council both agree to do so.
Environment — House Bill 1082, sponsored by Charbonneau and Randolph, bars proposed state environmental regulations that are more stringent than federal standards from taking effect until the Legislature has time to review them.
Police cameras — House Bill 1019, sponsored by Randolph, establishes a procedure to publicly release police video recorded by body or dashboard cameras. Videos generally would be available unless police identify one of several specific reasons justifying denial.
'Canned' hunting — Senate Enrolled Act 109, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, legitimizes and regulates Indiana's seven fenced hunting preserves where Hoosiers can shoot an unlimited number of captive deer, sheep, goats, elk, caribou, moose and reindeer. The industry currently is unregulated after state courts last year concluded that prior regulations were invalid.
U.S. Constitution — Senate Joint Resolution 14 requests Congress call a state-led convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution restricting federal spending, federal power generally and imposing congressional term limits. Indiana is the sixth of 34 states that must approve similar resolutions for a convention to be called.
School safety — Senate Bill 147, sponsored by several Region lawmakers, requires the Department of Homeland Security establish by July 1, 2017, minimum standards and "best practices" for school building protections against natural and man-made disasters.
Gary schools — Senate Bill 93 permits the emergency financial manager at Gary Community School Corp. to work for 24 months, instead of 12. House Bill 1179, sponsored by Rogers, Smith and Randolph, permits the Department of Education to spend up to $500,000 fixing the boilers at Roosevelt High School.
Move over — House Bill 1048, sponsored by Soliday, Arnold, Charbonneau and state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, obligates motorists involved in a minor crash to move their vehicles out of traffic if it can be done safely.
Water loss — Senate Enrolled Act 347, sponsored by Charbonneau and Randolph, orders the Indiana Finance Authority to determine how much water is lost to leaky pipes by comparing the volume of water entering utility systems and the amount of water purchased by customers.