3/24/2023 Session Update
By: Anna White
This Friday, we want to acknowledge the continued legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Two egregious anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed their committee hearings this week. They include SB 480, which bans medical transitioning for minors, and HB 1608, dubbed Indiana’s Don’t Say Gay bill, which prohibits human sexuality instruction in kindergarten through third grade, requires parental permission for students under eighteen to socially transition in school, and forces school staff to share private information about students who do not conform to traditional gender norms to other school staff and their parents - including mere speculation about gender identity. These bills, in tandem, have been dubbed the “slate of hate” by the ACLU of Indiana. Together, they make it very difficult for transgender and nonbinary children to transition both medically and socially. They ensure that schools are no longer safe spaces for students and threaten those who do not feel safe coming out to their parents or guardians. Representative Michelle Davis put it best when she said, “LGBTQ students exist at all ages and in all grade levels. This bill [HB 1608] sends a dangerous message to these already vulnerable youth that they and their stories are worth less than their peers.”
Also on the agenda this week is HB 1568, which was in a committee hearing on Wednesday, March 22. This bill gives pharmacists prescription powers for oral and patch hormonal birth control, increasing access for people who struggle to find another healthcare provider. There was a lot of great testimony from doctors and pharmacists alike, but the vote was put on hold. We’re hoping to see it reappear next time the Health and Provider Services Committee meets to be put to a vote.
Lastly, a couple of troubling bills passed in the Senate Elections Committee this week. HB 1334, Absentee Voting, creates additional barriers to voting by mail. It requires identification - through certain numbers or a photocopy of a valid government-issued ID - to request an absentee ballot. Currently, you only have to be a registered voter with an acceptable excuse to request an absentee ballot. This targets voters who are less likely to have a valid government-issued ID, like senior citizens and low-income people.
HB 1116, Various Election Matters, is a lengthy piece of legislation, but the bill presents two main issues. First, counties that did not redistrict in time can do so after the 2023 primary elections, meaning that candidates can redistrict, so their opponents lose. In other words, interested parties can use redistricting to “game the system” in the middle of an election cycle. Second, this bill introduces a new voter fraud statute stipulating that anyone convicted of a vote fraud felony is deprived of their right to vote for the next ten years following the date of conviction. Depriving someone of their right to vote when they aren’t in prison or on parole is called voter disenfranchisement, and Indiana purged all voter disenfranchisement laws off its books a long time ago. This section of the bill would reintroduce it and perhaps pave the way to more disenfranchisement in the future.
That’s a wrap on this week’s updates. If you want more information about any of the bills above, click on the links provided and read all about them.
Bill Tracker
SB 252: Allows for LARCS to be transferred between Medicaid recipients. The aim of this bill is to eliminate medical waste for LARCs that were prescribed for one patient but never actually used (IUDs and arm implants). Missouri, which has less Medicaid recipients than Indiana, has saved $1.8 million from a similar bill.
First reading: referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/11
Adopted and passed by Health Provider Services Committee on 02/02
Second reading; ordered engrossed on 02/06
Third reading; passed unanimously on 02/07
Referred to the House on 02/09
02/28: First Reading: Referred to Committee on Public Health
SB 376: Provides Medicaid eligibility for certain individuals who have immigrated and are lawfully residing in the United States and meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements. Specifies eligibility for the children’s health insurance program (CHIP) for lawfully residing individuals under 19 years of age.
First Reading: referred to Committee on Family and Children Services on 01/19
Passed and Adopted by Committee on 02/06; reassigned to Committee on Appropriations
Passed & Adopted by Committee on Appropriations 02/23
Second Reading: ordered engrossed 02.28
Third Reading: Passed 02/28
Referred to House: 03/01
HB 1009: Court-Ordered Pregnancy and Childbirth Expenses: Specifies what a court shall order a father to pay for pregnancy and childbirth expenses.
First Reading, assigned to committee on 01/12
Passed & Amended by committee on 02/09
Second Reading, ordered engrossed on 02/13
Third Reading: Passed on 02/14
Referred to Senate on 02/15
First Reading, Referred to Committee on Judiciary on 02/27
Amended and passed by Senate Judiciary Committee on 03/8
Second Reading Amended, Ordered Engrossed on 03/14
Placed back on Second Reading on 03/16
HB 1334: Absentee Voting: Provides that an agency of the state or a political subdivision may not provide an individual with an application for an absentee ballot unless requested by the individual or member of the individual’s family. Provides that an absentee ballot must include: (1) certain identification numbers, or (2) a photocopy of: (A) the applicant’s Indiana’s driver’s license, (B) the applicant’s Indiana identification card number for nondrivers, or (C) other specified proof of identification.
First Reading: Referred to Committee on Elections and Apportionment on 01/12
Amended and Passed by Committee on 02/16
Second Reading: Amended, Ordered Engrossed on 02/21
Third Reading: Passed 02/22
Referred to Senate on 02/23
In Committee 03/06, TBC
In Committee 03/20: Passed and Adopted
HB 1568: Allows pharmacists to prescribe and dispense oral and patch hormonal contraceptives. Provides that pharmacists who oppose contraceptives on moral or religious grounds are exempt from prescribing them.
First Reading: referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/19
The Committee hearing for this bill began on 02/07 but did not close with a decision until the hearing continued on 02/14.
It passed its hearing on 02/14, but with an amendment that prohibited pharmacists from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs.
Second Reading: Amended, ordered engrossed 02/16
Third Reading: Passed, 02/20
Referred to the Senate on 02/21
02/16: Second reading: ordered engrossed
02/21: Third Reading, passed, referred to Senate
03/01: First Reading, referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services
First reading, referred to committee on elections 03/06
In Committee 03/22, vote held, TBC
SB 480: Gender transition procedures for minors; Prohibits a physician or other practitioner from (1) knowingly providing gender transition procedures to an individual who is less than 18 years of age, and (2) aiding or abetting another physician or practitioner in the provision of gender transition procedures to a minor. Establishes civil enforcement actions.
First Reading; referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services on 01/19
Passed and Adopted in Committee 02/23
Second Reading, amended, ordered engrossed on 02/27
Third Reading, passed on 02/28
Referred to House 03/01
First Reading, referred to Committee on Public Health 03/06
Passed and Adopted by Committee on 03/21
Second Reading: Ordered Engrossed on 03/23
HB 1608: Human Sexuality Instruction: Bans human sexuality instruction in Kindergarten through Third Grade; bans teachers from using names, titles, or pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex unless the student’s parents file a request at the beginning of the school year stating otherwise, or if the student is an emancipated minor or 18 years of age. Ensures that staff cannot get in trouble for using only names, pronouns, and titles consistent with a student’s biological sex.
Status: First Reading: referred to Committee on Education 01/19
Passed & Adopted by Committee on 02/20
Second Reading: Ordered Engrossed on 02/22
Third Reading: Passed on 02/23
Referred to Senate on 02/24
First Reading, referred to Committee on Education & Career Development on 03/06
Passed & Adopted by committee on 03/22
HB 1116: Various Election Matters: Allows counties that have not yet redistricted to do so after the 2023 primaries, upending an election cycle and promoting “gaming the system” instead of fair maps. Also introduces a new voter fraud statute stipulating that anyone who is convicted of a vote fraud felony is deprived of their right to vote for the next ten years following the date of conviction.
First Reading, referred to committee on elections and proportionment on 01/10
Passed and adopted by elections and proportionment, referred to Committee on Ways & Means on 01/26
Passed and adopted by Ways & Means on 02/08
Second Reading, ordered engrossed on 02/16
Third Reading: passed on 02/20
Referred to Senate on 02/21
02/28: First Reading; referred to Committee on Elections
03/20: Passed and adopted by Committee on Elections, reassigned to Committee on Tax & Fiscal Policy